Puzzles have long been a source of entertainment and enjoyment for individuals both young and old. For the youngest child, puzzles which usually involve a few large pieces, serve not only as entertainment, but also help to develop coordination along with color and shape recognition. As children get older, puzzles with many smaller pieces become popular as they offer more of a challenge to build than puzzles with large pieces.
Because the pieces of a puzzle can only be cut so small in order for the puzzle to be practical to construct, puzzle manufacturers must continue to come up with new ways to make the puzzle challenging. This is done, for example, by making the puzzle from a multi-colored picture or using scenes where colors blend in with one another such as the reds, yellows and orange of a sunset or the various shades of blue and green involved with a seascape. A three-dimensional puzzle gives the added dimension of depth to the scene, thereby making it more difficult to construct.
Three-dimensional puzzles are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,243 (Juenger) discloses a portable three-dimensional puzzle having a magnetic backing that makes it easier to use when traveling. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,230 discloses a method for producing a multidimensional image using a lenticular lens.
Three-dimensional puzzles that can be cut into several small pieces, such as a 500 piece puzzle set, are not well known, however. This is because when cutting the photographic sheet into a puzzle, the greater the amount of rule in a square inch, the greater the amount of tension or pressure in the sheet. In other words, the larger the pieces of the puzzle, the less pressure involved in cutting them.
The greater pressure involved in cutting a puzzle into numerous small pieces causes the backing board to weaken, thus causing the images on the puzzle pieces to delaminate. This decreases the sharpness of the image and results in cloudy condition on the edges of the puzzle piece. For this reason, a three-dimensional puzzle that is capable of being cut into numerous small pieces without causing deterioration of the image of the puzzle would be an important improvement in the art.